Evolution
by walkersystem
Summary: Bobby Finstock isn't as oblivious as people think. At least, not anymore.


Bobby Finstock has a lot on his plate. What with coaching lacrosse, making sure his dumbass brother doesn't start up his meth habit again, and Greenberg, who can really blame him for being oblivious to some of the stranger things in Beacon Hills? At least, that's what he tells himself when he finally stops to think about McCall's sudden ability to score more goals than all the other players on the team combined.

It's not _that _strange if you think about it. McCall has been practicing all summer according to Stilinski, who automatically jumps to his friend's defense whenever someone questions the sudden talent. Plus his new co-captain has really improved the school's lacrosse record, so who was Bobby to complain?

Whittemore was a surprise though. That kid had always been obsessive about training and eating right and improving his game. But he never got any better. Jackson's talent had seemingly plateaued, so when he started upping his game right after McCall, Bobby got worried.

Steroids were the simplest solution to the current riddle in Beacon Hills. One kid gets better at lacrosse, talks to other kid, other kid gets better at lacrosse. A few trading of pills along the way, and everyone's problems are solved. So coach starts paying more attention in the locker room, eaves drops on some conversations, makes sure only legal things are being put into lockers.

It's around this time that he notices Lahey. The kid has always sort of blended into the background for Bobby, he's not particularly skilled at lacrosse but he isn't awful either, so coach never paid much attention to him. Now he wonders why he hasn't noticed it before. It's obvious once he stops to look. Every so often a bruise or a scrape will appear on the kid's face. It's not a frequent occurrence, but what really worries Bobby is that during those times Lahey looks like he wants to crawl into his oversized sweatshirts and never come out. Even the most self conscious kids Bobby has ever seen have never looked quite like that. So Bobby watches and he wonders where exactly those injuries are coming from.

McCall is really pissing him off. The kid can never seem to focus on what's really important anymore. _Lacrosse. _If he doesn't get his grades up then this team is going to be royally screwed. Coach would say he could rely on Whittemore, but that bundle of dysfunction had skipped out on the last two practices. He's frustrated and contemplating how realistic it would be to expect another player to get a sudden boost of talent, when he opens the door to the locker room. It's fairly empty except for a few stragglers, the slow changers. Bobby looks around and spots Lahey partially hidden behind a row of lockers. He seems to be struggling to get his lacrosse shirt over his head, so Bobby stops to see what's going on. The kid is biting his lip in a way that must be painful, and his arms are crossed over his torso. He grabs at the edge of his shirt with the tips of his fingers, and slowly starts to pull it up. The kid grunts and squeezes his eyes shut while still ever so slowly raising his shirt.

Bobby doesn't get what all the fuss is about until the shirt is up high enough to reveal part of Lahey's back. He sucks in a breath and feels his heart stutter as red welts and dried blood fill up his vision. Fuck. Just, fuck. The kid has succeeded in getting the shirt over his head, and the top of his back is no better than the bottom. Bobby turns around because honestly he thinks he's about to puke. This is different from bruises and scrapes. He can't ignore this.

Bobby keeps a ridiculously close eye on Lahey for the next few days. Nothing new appears on his face or his back. Just the same old injuries slowly healing. He honestly doesn't know how to approach the kid about this. Should he just go right up and ask him? No, not in the middle of the locker room. His office would be better. But what should he ask him? Someone is obviously hurting the kid. If he had to guess he'd say that asshole father of his. Bobby had known coach Lahey for a few years before he'd retired and the man hadn't exactly made a good impression on him.

He had a plan. He was going to approach Isaac after practice, ask to see him in his office, and get him to admit that his father was hurting him. He could tell the sheriff and Isaac could go live with someone else. A relative, a foster parent, Bobby didn't really know how that was going to work. But at least he'd be safe.

Then Issac's father is murdered and Bobby's plan is smashed into pieces. Lahey is missing and considered a fugitive, McCall is running around doing god knows what, and Whittemore doesn't even look like he's all there in the head. There are rumors going around that Isaac killed his father and Bobby honestly doesn't know how to feel about that. But one thought keeps circling in his mind. _If you had talked to him sooner, maybe this wouldn't be happening. _

Lahey is back with a brand new attitude. Gone are the worried frowns and lowered gazes, it's time for confident smirks and leather jackets. A new age has begun, complete with new friends (not like there were any before but-), new talents, and new authority figures. Bobby isn't blind. He sees how Derek Hale starts hanging around the school right around the time Isaac gets his confidence boost. He sees little Erica Reyes getting into his black camaro and he sees the way Vernon Boyd looks across the parking lot every time she does. A seed of worry plants itself in Bobby's gut, completely different from the one that had sprouted there before.

He was right. He was so fucking _right _that he almost isn't surprised when he sees Derek drag Isaac into his camaro after school. Lahey's eyes are wide and afraid and Bobby swears a fucking knife goes through his heart when he catches sight of them. Derek's hand is tightly clutching Isaac's curls in a grip that has to be painful and Erica is making her way across the parking lot, Boyd on her heels. The car door slams before either can reach it and soon it's making it's way out of the parking lot. Erica turns to Boyd, looking up at him expectantly. Bobby watches as Boyd sighs and says something to the little blond girl, who shakes her head and begins to cry.

At this point Bobby is pretty sure he knows what's going on. Derek is somehow controlling three teenagers and has just now begun to reveal his true intentions. No normal, well-adjusted, adult hangs around high schools and sets their sights on curly haired boys and girls with short skirts and quiet, vulnerable kids who eat alone. No well-intentioned adult gives those kids rides in his black car with tinted windows. It makes Bobby sick but honestly, what else could be happening? He thought victims of this were supposed to lose confidence, to become withdrawn, but these kids already had it so bad maybe it was having an opposite effect? He didn't know and he wasn't going to pretend to. But this had to stop.

Erica is dead. Boyd is dead. Lahey is living with McCall. Bobby has no idea what has happened. He had a plan. Another plan that ended up going on unexecuted. He doesn't know how the blond girl and her boyfriend ended up fucking _dead_, but he does know that Derek Hale probably had something to do with it and right now the only one left to worry about is Isaac. Bobby knows Melissa McCall and Melissa McCall is one of the safest, most trustworthy people he has ever met. So he feels a thousand times better when she informs him that one of his players is staying with her now and she will be signing all forms from now on. Lahey deserves a loving parent and Ms. McCall is a miracle that has been dropped into his lap.

Isaac should be happy now. He should be walking the halls with the confidence he had when he was staying with Derek. But it doesn't happen. Isaac never lifts his head up high and he never seems to heal from what has happened. His gaze is lower than it has ever been before and the urge to hide forever is coming off of him in waves. Bobby is confused and frankly a little pissed off. Nothing ever happens the way it's supposed to. Kid gets away from his abusive father? Better make sure he's accused of murdering him. Murder charges dropped? Time to hang out with another abusive authority figure. Get away from him too? Your friends are going to die before you do. Start living with the perfect family? Something is still wrong enough to make you look like a kicked puppy.

He doesn't get it until he sees. Sees McCall shoving Lahey into the locker room wall so hard that Bobby is surprised he doesn't hear bone snapping. He's mad. He's angry. He's unbelievably furious. He's every single raging emotion that has ever existed because _damn it! This is not how this is supposed to go! _

Lahey is supposed to live with the McCall's and everything is supposed to settle down. No more scumbag men who take advantage of their power. No more bruises or leather jackets. Just Isaac. But of course the universe never lets anything be simple. McCall has to turn into a raging asshole at the same time a vulnerable, emotionally unstable target moves into his house. Because that's all Isaac is really. A target. Bobby gets that now. It's not fair and it's not how it's supposed to be. But Bobby doesn't know what the hell to do about it.

He has a plan. He's going to do his job. He's going to coach lacrosse, and yell at some teenagers, and put Greenberg in his place. He's not going to focus on one stupid kid. He's not going to look for meanings behind bruises or try to raise lowered eyes. He's not going to pay attention to things he shouldn't.

Bobby Finstock has a lot on his plate. What with coaching lacrosse, and ignoring his dumbass brother who started doing meth again, and Greenberg, who can really blame him for choosing to be oblivous to some of the stranger things in Beacon Hills? At least, that's what he tells himself when he finally stops caring.


End file.
